September 7, 2023

Abdul Karim Telgi Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Abdul Karim Telgi (1961-2017) was an Indian counterfeiter, who was the main convict in the Scam 2003. The scam was based on stamp paper counterfeiting. He was imprisoned for 30 years. In 2023, he gained popularity when a biographical financial thriller television series ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story’ on SonyLIV was released.

Wiki/Biography

Abdul Karim Telgi was born on Saturday, 29 July 1961 (age 56 years; at the time of death) in Khanapur, Belgaum, Karnataka. His zodiac sign was Leo. He did his schooling at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya English Medium High School, Khanapur. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Telgi’s father died when he was a child. He used to pay his school fees by selling fruits and vegetables on trains. After completing his schooling, he went to Mumbai for some time and worked there. Later, Abdul went to Saudi Arabia and stayed there for seven years.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

Abdul’s father’s name is Ladsaab Telgi, who was an employee in the Indian railways. His mother’s name is Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi.

Wife & Children

Abdul was married to Shahida Telgi, who was also convicted of the Scam in 2002.
Shahida Telgi
They have a daughter, Sana Talikoti.
Sana Talikoti

Relationships/Affairs

Telgi was in love with a bar dancer, Tarannum Khan of Deepa Bar in Mumbai. Reportedly, Abdul spent over Rs. 90 lakh on her on 31 December 2001.
Tarannum Khan (left)

Stamp Paper Scam 2003

After staying in Saudi Arabia for seven years, he came back to India and started making fake passports to earn money. He began a business to send labourers to Saudi Arabia. He opened a company called Arabian Metro Travels in New Marine Lines. He used to make fake documents to help labourers pass through the airport without any problems, even if their passports had issues like an ECR (emigration check required) stamp or other things that made immigration officials suspicious. Manpower exporters referred to this practice as “pushing.” In the beginning, Telgi started his scam in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Later, he expanded it to Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. He got arrested in 2000 when two men were caught selling fake stamp papers in Bengaluru. During the interrogation, they revealed the whole scam. He was arrested by the police in the same case. While he was in prison, Telgi met another criminal named Ratan Soni. They both decided to cheat people by creating fake stamp papers. Telgi started making fake stamp paper, which was a more complicated crime than making fake passports. He hired 300 people as agents, and they sold these fake stamp papers to big buyers like banks, insurance companies, and stock brokerage firms. The scam was worth Rs. 300 billion (equivalent to US$3.8 billion). The most concerning part of the scandal was that it involved numerous police officers and government workers, including Nikhil Kothari, an Assistant Police Investigator. Surprisingly, Kothari had assets worth more than Rs. 1 billion (equivalent to US$13 million), even though he earned just Rs. 9,000 (US$110) per month as a salary. Many other police officers were involved in the case. Pradip Sawant, who was the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Special Branch of Mumbai at the time, was initially removed from his position but later brought back after getting a clean chit in the case. Police officer, S M Mushrif, known for writing the book “Who Killed Karkare,” played an important role in handling this case. In 2001, the scam came to notice for the first time when fake stamp papers in Pune and Karnataka caught the attention of the local police. They approached Telgi regarding the case. Many political leaders and anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare demanded his arrest. Anna Hazare even went to the Bombay High Court in 2003 to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The court then set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that arrested 54 people involved in the scam. Later, the CBI took over the case and in 2004, they filed a charge sheet. Three years later, in 2007, Telgi was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs. 202 crores. Even when he was in prison, it was reported that Telgi continued his business. This information came to light when his associates, who were arrested in October 2002, were questioned. The Income Tax Department also seized his property to pay the fine. The Tax Department looked at his earnings for the year 1996-97 and found that his income was Rs. 4.54 crore, out of which, Rs. 2.29 crore was registered. Telgi’s lawyer said that the money which was unrecorded was for his kerosene transport business, but this claim was rejected because he couldn’t provide any documents to prove he was in that business. A report from The Financial Times in 2003 stated that from 1992 to 2002, Telgi was charged with at least 12 cases in Maharashtra alone, along with an additional 15 cases from other states.

Death

Telgi was suffering from meningitis, diabetes and hypertension for over 20 years before his death. His health deteriorated during his imprisonment, and he suffered from various ailments. While he was in jail, he was declared HIV positive. Abdul died on 23 October 2017 at Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru due to multiple organ failure.

Facts/Trivia

• In 2017, Shahida, his wife asked a court in Pune to seize properties owned by Abdul for the betterment of the nation. In a statement, she said,
  The last will of my husband was to the effect that properties which were purchased from the proceeds of the so-called fake stamp scam should be seized by the government and used for the benefits of the nation. I came to know about some properties that remained to be seized by the police, which are in the name of the relatives. It is my binding duty to fulfil the last wish of my husband to bring this fact to the notice of the court and the prosecution agency. Therefore, I filed this application.”Telgi under false names and use them for the benefit of the country.”

• A movie titled ‘Mudrank (The Stamp)’ that was inspired by Telgi’s stamp scandal was completed in 2008. However, it was not released for a year.
  Poster of the film ‘Mudrank’

• In 2022, his daughter, Sana went to the Bombay Sessions Court to request a legal notice for filmmaker Hansal Mehta to stop him from directing the web series titled “Scam 2003-The Curious Case of Abdul Karim Lala Telgi,” which is inspired by Abdul’s life.

• In 2023, ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story,’ an Indian Hindi-language biographical financial thriller television series was released on SonyLIV. The series was directed by Hansal Mehta. It was based on the life of Abdul. Abdul’s role is played by actor Gagan Dev Riar.
  Poster of the web series ‘Scam 2003 The Telgi Story’